Never The Same
by RunwayRoad
Summary: AU This is my first story so please be nice and give feedback! It's been 4 years since that day. 4 long years and everything after had been so normal. I went to school, got into a good college and things had finally seemed to settle down in my life...until one day when a strange man who looks like someone from my past appears that things start to spiral. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

October 30-October 31

* * *

I woke up again in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. My thin cotton shirt was sticking to my sweat drenched body.

Another nightmare. I thought to myself. It wasn't the actual plot of the dream that scared me was the only way I could rationalize it. It was the piercing gray blue eyes that would stare at me, angry like a stormy sea. The intensity and the anger that lied in them was something that I was afraid. Or maybe something I just tried to convince myself I was afraid of. A part of me tried to grow up and rationalize these irrational fears, but they couldn't be helped.

Shaking my head at that thought, I pushed the covers off and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Next to me, Jocelyn was sleeping in her bed. I wasn't too surprised. It was 2 in the morning after all and she had a midterm in the morning. Her back was turned to me and I could hear her lightly breathing, her orange red hair in a mess splashed out across her pillow.

Everything outside our room seemed so still. There was no wind tonight which was rare for it being the middle of fall. It was cold enough to compensate for the lack of though.

Outside the window above my bed, I could see the sky was cloudless and the moon was bright enough that I could see all the way to the main building without too much difficulty. Then my eyes caught something. A silhouette passing in front of the moon. My breath caught. I recognized it as an owl. But why should that scare me? Just cause it was an owl didn't mean it was…him.

I made a noise of disgust. I didn't like thinking of him. He always brought up old feelings and the humility of how young and stupid I had been to even fall for those tricks of his. It'd been four years since that day when I wished my baby brother away and I ventured through the Labyrinth to get him back. Four years since I'd been humiliated, scared, traumatized and yet still somehow enchanted by the world and it's creatures. Perhaps the most enchanting and enthralling, I would hate to admit, was the Goblin King. His fly away hair mixed with glitter and streaks of color. Always dressed in some spectacular garb and the unnatural almost feral features that made up his face.

He was so…male. How observant of me. He was admittedly everything a woman would want. Full of excitement and danger. Maybe a little bit more than that. But that danger was something that both had frightened yet intrigued me. I hated that. I hadn't been running the Labyrinth to get sidelined and distracted by fancy words and false offers. I had to get Toby back and that was it.

I should hate him after all. He nearly killed me, drugged me, kidnapped my baby brother and almost made me the most foul smelling person to walk the Earth. Not to mention the fact that his anger was another thing to behold and he was only trying to keep my brother. It was nothing more than winning to him. The smug bastard.

Finally, breaking out of thought, I stood up and walked to the bathroom. I didn't turn the lights. The light from outside the window from the moon was light enough for me to see and all I wanted was to splash water on my face. It would be another one of those long nights.

* * *

"Sarah. Sarah…God damn it I don't have the time for this shit this morning." I heard Jocelyn yelling at me through my sleep depraved haze. I didn't even have to open my eyes to know that she was leaning over me, probably looking pissed. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to open my eyes yet, so I wasn't very prepared for what she would do.

I darted upright as I felt a bucket of cold water being dumped on me. Slowly, I opened my eyes at her to see that Joce was looking down on me smirking. In her hand was a bright blue bucket. My eyes darted up to hers, glaring daggers.

"It's time to get up." She just smiled un-phased and walked to the bathroom, locking the door before I had a chance to strangle her.

"You are so dead when you come out of there!" I screamed, wiping away some of the water on my face. I swung my legs off the bed and moved away from the watery mess. My sheets were a jumbled wet disaster now and I'd probably have to take the hair dryer to the mattress. Just the way I wanted to start my day.

Hopefully it get's better from here. However, maybe that's entirely too optimistic of me to think.

Outside the sun was trying hard to pierce through the gray clouds above that looked to be threatening rain. The wind had finally picked up and I could see a girl trying to enter the Main Hall not too far away lose her umbrella and chase after it. Today was strange. The news had predicted that it would be partly cloudy with light wind. Not a goddamn hurricane. The windows in our room were shaking. Which didn't surprise me that much, considering we got the oldest dorm building to be housed in.

I had three classes today and that was it, then me and Joce were free to enjoy the weekend and go out. She'd set up a blind date of sorts with a guy she knew from her photography class and a good friend of ours, Blake. God knows she'd been trying to set me up with someone since we were in middle school. Finally, I had to give in with this one.

"Alright! If it'll get you off my back then fine!"

"I'm just hoping that this gets someone on your back." She'd retorted suggestively after I yelled at her that day. I could still see that grin she'd had on her face as she'd said it all witty. Well, we'd see how this date went. He'd probably just turn out to be one of those bulky, dumb muscle types. Those had been her go to's for me it seemed. All muscley, played football, dumb as a fence post and thought they were the most fantastic piece of shit to grace the earth.

I turned around from the window as I heard the bathroom door open. Joce came out of the bathroom very cautious in case an attack from me occured.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you Joce." I said moving away from the window to move closer to her. She retreated her footing slightly. Then when she wasn't prepared I grabbed her around the waist, making sure to give her a nice cold wet hug.

* * *

The day had seemed to go by rather fast. I was pleased about that though. I had made it through my first two classes easily enough and now all that was left was to go my final class of the day and be happy and content with myself. Then I would make a mad dash back to the room and get ready for our date tonight. Just because I didn't like whoever the guy was already, didn't mean that I wouldn't go to some effort to look presentable. As long as Joce and Blake stayed with us I would be alright.

She had planned to make the date at a local restaurant in town. The restaurant was one that we knew very well. During the Spring, we made it a habit to go into town every weekend and have dinner as celebration of having made it through the roughest part of the year. Meaning both the weather and finals.

From what I heard from Joce, the man I was set up with-because God knows she couldn't give me a damn name- was a Literature major and a music minor. He apparently was tall to the point where he would tower over me. Then again, I was only 5'2", so most people towered over me. Mr. Mystery man also worked at a law firm in town and played in a band. While he didn't play any sports and that the band part was kind of a surprise, I could already tell that this guy was going to be stuck up.

I didn't want a guy like that. I mean I was all for someone who wanted to have fun and be mushy and lovey, but there was something about a level of maturity that I craved. Most guys were immature. Or at least the ones in Maine seemed to be. I hold everyone to ridiculously high standards.

"I wonder what your basis for comparison is?" The voice seemed so clear and crisp. Like it was standing right behind me. I knew whose voice it was.

My eyes widened and I turned around looking for the owner. No one was there though. The thing that I did see though, was a white feather gently falling to the ground.

"Shit." I breathed, turning my worried gaze to the gray and looming sky. It didn't do any good. Against the blinding reflection of the clouds, I couldn't see anything even if there was something there.

Looking back at the feather, I scrutinized for a moment. Was I just being paranoid? Most owls in the area didn't come out until night. Unless usually prompted or agitated to move. After a moment, I picked up the feather, tucked it in my bag and went to class before the skies opened up.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting, Sar." Joce said to me. I had to admit I was a little nervous. Against my own will, Joce had dressed me in one of the better dresses I owned. It hadn't been worn since I was in high school. The dress seemed to fit me fine though apart from the zipper getting caught in the fabric and the teeth had started separating. It was a red faux velvet dress that came about mid thigh with long sleeves and an empire waistline. The skirt of the dress poofed out slightly accentuating my waist. Under the dress I had the thickest tights I could find and a pair of black ankle boots. Perfect. Just what I needed the guy to think was that I was going to too much effort to look good for him.

"I can't help it. I'm impatient and bored. When are they going to get here?" I asked playing with the menus in front of us.

We'd arrived at the restaurant at 5:30. The time we'd agreed to meet up at was 6:00. I glanced at my cell phone screen for the umpteenth time this evening. 6:45. As if I needed any more reasons to dislike Mr. Mystery man.

"Blake said that they'll be here in around 5 minutes. They're just down the road. He said that traffic on the way from…" She paused, sounding like she was about to give away my date's name. "Your date's job was insane." She continued. I sighed, thinking she was going to be nice.

I looked around the restaurant again. We'd gotten a private room in the corner of the restaurant because apparently the owner who we'd known had caught wind of my date-most likely from Joce- and decided to give us the little windowed room to celebrate. The walls were decked out with wood paneling from floor to ceiling and the floor was some kind of vinyl fake marble tile with many scuffs and stains from the years of wear. There were little windows in the room and in the door too. While the room had a door for privacy it wasn't too private. It was very cozy. The pendant light hung above the tables and added a certain charm and class to the room. On the wall behind the propped door, was a sad looking little bushy plant and on the wall behind it hung one of my favorite paintings of the ocean.

"They're here! They just pulled up!" Joce exclaimed reading the text obviously from Blake on her phone. Her eyes twinkled and she grabbed my shoulders excitedly.

"Ok Sar, just keep cool. I'm so pumped! Remember though, stay calm." It was funny almost that she was more nervous than I was. I saw her eyes flicker over to the door in the restaurant which told me that they were here. When I moved my head to turn around and look through the window though, I was stopped by Jocelyn's hands which held my face still. I gave her a confused look.

"Well why can't I look?" I muffled through her hands on my cheeks as I crossed my arms, feeling rather defiant.

She just gave me a smile and giggled. "You've waited all this time to find out who your mystery date is, and damn it you can wait two more seconds."

Her eyes moved over to the door and she gave a smile in its direction. She released my face and straightened her back to greet the people at the door with a friendly "Hello".

What I saw next I was unprepared for. The man standing behind Blake was a tall lanky man with short fly away brown hair and blue eyes. He looked like the Goblin King. My breath caught and I couldn't breathe. My eyes widened and my ears were ringing. This couldn't be him. This man was younger looking even though Jareth himself wasn't that old and his hair and something about his face and the way he stood and watched them was different. And then he turned and looked at me. A cold chill ran through my body and I shivered. He smiled at me. A kind smile, but there was something wrong with it. Something almost creepy.

I could see Jocelyn's mouth move but I couldn't hear anything. I was still in my own world. I snapped out of it when Joce called my name.

"Sarah, come over here." My legs reluctantly moved towards the Goblin-esque man. "Sarah this is Daryn. Daryn, this is Sarah." He extended his hand to me. I thought for a moment. The logical side of my brain took over and decide that this was not him and I was just being rude. I extended my hand and put on a smile.

When our hands touched though, my smile faltered slightly. His hands tingled. It sent ripples of something through my hand. It was like magic. This was how it felt when Jareth and I had danced in the bubble.

I could see Joce and Blake talking behind Daryn's shoulder. They were both smiling and holding each others hands like they were gabbing about us already.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Williams." He greeted again coming out nice but being received as creepy in a way. His voice had the same eccentricity as Jareth's. Their names and even the way the two dressed were outlandish. Daryn though was not as flamboyant as The King was, but even though he was in a button down white shirt and black trouser pants, something was very foreign about him.

"Please, call me Sarah." I managed to say.

"Sarah." He said as if trying it out. It sent another set of shivers down my back. I still put on a poker face, deciding it best to feign ignorance.

The meal had been good enough. We all choose to eat something simple like the clam chowder or the fish and chips. But Daryn ordered the stuffed artichoke with a garlic glaze. We all looked at each other for a moment when that happened. Can you spell spoiled?

He sat next to me in the booth and then on the other corner, Jocelyn sat with Blake. It was uncomfortable for sure but my nerves for the most part were under control and I did my best to make small talk and act like I was interested. I was interested in him, just in a different way. Like why did I get a strange vibe from him?

"So, Blake tells me that you're taking Mythological studies?" The question even broke up Blake and Jocelyn's conversation. I blinked at him taken off guard by the question.

"Um, yes. With Mr. Powell. Are you interested in Mythological Studies?" I asked, the interest actually sparked.

"Yes I am actually. It's an interesting course and the tales as old as they are are still very…"He paused thinking for the right word. "Entertaining." He finished, taking another drink of his water. "And what about you? What made you decide to take the class?"

"Well, I guess it was an interest in mythology and fairy tales from when I was younger." That took me back. I could remember everything so clearly. The fairy's, Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo. Even the fae people which were somewhat frightening were so extremely captivating.

"Oh yeah, Sarah used to read that book all the time and I still catch her reading it. What was it called again…" I looked up at Jocelyn eyes widened again. I didn't want her to say anything out of fear that he Daryn might be whatever I suspected him to be. Maybe a spy from Jareth. Maybe something else entirely.

Before I could interject though, she finished her comment. "Oh yeah, 'The Labyrinth'. It was so funny she used to act out the scenes in our dorm room when she thought I was gone. And obsess over that guy-"

"Jocelyn." I interrupted quickly seeing where the topic of conversation was going and the look in Daryn's eyes as Jocelyn spoke. "I'm sure Daryn doesn't really want to hear about this."

"Oh I see, you're just embarrassed is all." She giggled to herself.

Blake mouthed "I'm sorry" to me and I just nodded my head.

"On the contrary, I like that story a great deal. The story of a girl learning the lessons of life and growing up through the mistake of wishing her baby brother away. Then finding the strength to make it through the Goblin King's Labyrinth and cunning traps and defeating him." He took a pause to take another sip. He did know something. He had something to do with the Underground I knew that much at least. "I think I liked the part where the heroine finds herself trapped in an oubliette though within her first 40 minutes of being within the maze." He poked. While Jocelyn and Blake might not have caught the jabs and hints he was dropping, I did. They both just looked like they thought we were seriously just discussing the book.

"Really? My favorite part was when the heroine defeated the King." I said smirking slightly. I crossed my legs and arms and stuck my chin up slightly. I saw his eyes narrow at me. "She taught the cocky bastard not to underestimate anyone and that he should learn to take his head out of his ass."

"Well maybe I can get a lesson or two from you sometime about your knowledge on mythological creatures and fairy tales. After all, they are _just_ stories." He stood up looking at his watch as he grabbed his suit jacket he'd been wearing earlier. "Thank you for the lovely evening ladies but I'm afraid that me and Blake must get on our way. Long day tomorrow. It is Halloween after all. Will you ladies be attending Blake's party?" I'd totally forgotten. Holy shit, Halloween really was tomorrow. I looked over at Jocelyn who was already opening her mouth to answer. "Yes, we'll be there." Her eyes gleamed.

Daryn then bowed his head and went out with Blake behind him. Blake looked rather out of place behind him with his black button up shirt, pink tie and wig. Before he left he so gentlemanly said " 'Kay byeeeeeee!".

Now it was just me and Jocelyn to think to ourselves for the moment. What the hell had happened tonight? I knew that something had been strange with him but the hand shake, the way he acted like he was privileged or entitled, the way he talked and then there was the solidifying fact that he was taunting me directly about the Labyrinth. I wondered what his thoughts were though when Jocelyn had brought up the fact that I was obsessing over Jareth. Which I wasn't! But I had to admit, I did find him intriguing. I wouldn't admit to anymore than that. Not even if I found myself in another oubliette. But that's what it came down to. He knew about me and the Labyrinth and obviously knew the story of what happened. He had a hand in it somewhere and I would find out soon enough.

"So what do you think of him? Not like anyone I've set you up with before huh?" She asked, proud of the work she'd done.

"That's for sure. The conceited doof." I commented crossing my arms and sinking back into the cushioning of the bench.

"What?! Don't be so cynical! He's beautiful and smart and-"

"Conceited, snarky and an asshole." I finished for her.

"You're just being picky. Besides, you two are perfect." I winced inwardly. She had terrible judgment when it came to my love life. But it was whatever. Thank God that was over. Now we could go back home and relax…until tomorrow night that is until I had to see him again. I'd find out some answers for sure about what was going on.

* * *

It sure felt good to sleep in. The sheets were nice and cool and everything outside seemed perfectly nice and still. That is, until I opened my eyes and looked out the window.

I darted straight up in the bed. In the tree outside the window, the owl was sitting on a branch, staring at me. Our eyes locked. Three times in the past 48 hours? That could not be just a coincidence. Especially not since it was a barn owl and barn owls were not native to the area. I wondered what to do. Frowning slightly I reached for the window to open it, but before I could, the bird made a strange "Woo" ing noise that sounded more like a laugh and took off into the direction of the woods nearby.

I turned my head as I heard a key go into the doorknob. Joce came into the room and dropped her bags beside the door and tossed the keys down.

"Oh good you're up. I went out to get us costumes for tonight and boy did I find some good ones." Her smile telling me I was in for a big surprise. Boy was I ever.

She opened the bag and took out the most insane costume ever. It was basically the exact same outfit that Jareth had worn in the tunnels. The gray tights, the plunging v neck shirt with poofy sleeves and all, the jacket, vest and boots. They were all there. And then the last thing she pulled out of the bag was his mask. The mask he'd worn during the ball. I froze. How did she find these?

"Daryn asked me to give these to you." Oh snap. So that was it, was it?

"Why'd he do that?" I asked moving to pick up and examine the clothes. They looked exactly the same. Down to the very last detail. It was amazing. The leather of the jacket didn't feel like the phony fake stuff that most costumes would be made of. It felt like the real thing. The shirt felt like it was made out of the most expensive silk ever. And the pants much to my surprise weren't as thick as I'd thought they'd be. It was strange. Like all of this was his almost. That thought made my stomach churn.

"He said that him and Blake had agreed that they'd be going as fairytale characters or their interpretation from characters from your great book. So in other words all of us are going together as 'The Labyrinth' group." She grinned and brushed a hand through her hair.

"Well what're YOU wearing?" I asked.

"This." She said simply as she pulled out fairy wings and a simple rough spun looking dress. I immediately recognized it as a fairy costume. More specifically, the fairy's that I saw Hoggle spraying when I first met him. I giggled to myself. But apparently Joce caught my giggle and thought I was making fun.

"Oh really? What are you laughing at? My costume is great! I'm a fairy! A beautiful fairy!" She exclaimed. I couldn't help but laugh at that. The way she said that was too funny. I shook my head still laughing.

"No, I'm not making fun of your outfit, I'm just laughing because it reminded me of something." I thought for a moment. Daryn's motives were still a mystery to me but I thought that I'd figured out at least part of what he was trying to do with the costumes. "I don't want to wear it." I declared throwing myself back onto the bed face first. I heard Jocelyn gasp then come over to my side of the bed. The next thing I knew I heard a loud slam and felt a pain on my butt. She'd slapped me! I turned around and looked at her, mouth wide open. She looked like she was holding back giggles.

"How dare you! That costume is amazing and you are going to wear it and enjoy it, young missy!"

"No how dare you slap me?!" I said giggling and hitting her with a pillow. She retaliated and tossed her pillow at me. This turned into a pillow war very quickly but then was interrupted by a knock on the door. We both looked at each other with confusion.

When I answered the door, it was none other than Dr. Clark Kerr. The insufferable spineless old man was the director of the college. He was terrible at his job and he knew it. He didn't do anything when there were complaints but if there were complaints and it was causing students to leave, he would right away do the most half assed job to fix it. His old school big thick rimmed glasses were slipping down his narrow nose and his head was balding. Today he looked almost casual but still in his vintage khaki suit and checkered button up shirt.

I leaned on the door and put a hand on my hip.

"Well if it isn't our dear friend, Dr. Kerr. To what do myself and my roommate owe the pleasure?" I mocked a smirk on my face. The mans face seemed to be upset and when he saw my pajamas his face turned more to disgust and disapproval.

"Williams, I want to know what the meaning of this is." He spat angrily as he shoved a piece of paper to me. I delicately took the paper from him and looked. It was an invitation to the Halloween party tonight in one of the frat houses.

"Yes what about it? Are you thinking of going sir?" I asked looking back up at him.

"Not at all. You know that parties on campus are strictly prohibited." He waved a finger in my face.

"Yes well what did you want me personally to do about it? I'm not the one throwing the party."

"Do you intend on going?"

"Maybe. Why? What's it to you? And why do you care about our lame college parties to begin with? We can do what we please in the privacy of our own dorms so long as we aren't getting complaints from others and we aren't breaking the law and the last time I checked, having a party and having fun wasn't against the law."

"Yes but you are on school grounds and therefore the jurisdiction of the grounds falls to me and I make the rules around here. If you go to that party, you're expelled."

"How are you going to know who goes or not?" I asked turning serious. "And really though, just me? Why the special treatment? It's sweet, but you shouldn't."

"You let your little friends know that if they go they'll be out of this school."

"Then you'll just have expel the whole damn school and find new students. But wait that's right, the school's sort of got a reputation now doesn't it?" His face turned dark. "You seem to know where I'm going already. Because of your lack of care for the school and taking charge, you've had a decrease in enrollment by about 20% isn't that right? I watch the news and actually read the school's newspaper. So if I were you, I would do the smart thing and get off my ass and make some changes for the good for this school. Like adding some first aid kits or hire more nightly guards. Do something productive why don't you instead of worrying about some stupid college party." I stated finally.

He looked like he was going to explode. "Good" I thought. Let him. He knew I was telling the truth. He looked over my shoulder into the room at Jocelyn and the costume she had in her hands. He seemed to turn pale.

"What is that?" He asked his voice seeming cold and almost scared. It was my costume. Jocelyn had the costume on hangers and was going to hang it up but she stopped and looked at us.

"That's my costume." I declared, now feeling some sense of pride in it.

"You're going as that character are you?" He paused, looking like he was entranced or hypnotized by the clothes. Breaking from his thoughts or whatever he was caught up in, he made another disgusted face and looked at me. "humph, mark my words Williams-"

"Yes, duly marked, duly noted. Thank you for dropping in on us but we have to get ready for tonight and having fun with our youth so buh-bye." I interrupted, shutting the door in his face.

I turned and looked at Jocelyn. She seemed somehow very proud of the fact that I had taken responsibility for the costume and took it that I was going to wear it.

"You ready for that party then?" I asked taking the costume from her and laying it down on my bed.

"Are you kidding? You bet I am. Although I wonder what's up with him. I mean, he usually is pretty pissy, but he seemed pretty freaked by your costume Sar." She said sitting down on her bed, admiring the costume.

"Yeah, I wonder what that was about. I thought he was going to scream or faint or something." I laughed. There was a moment of silence between us. We were probably wondering the same thing as the other. Strange things were happening a lot lately. It couldn't be simply chopped up to coincidence at this point. It all fell together somehow. Daryn, Dr. Kerr, the owl. It all somehow fit.

I looked up at the windowsill where the feather sat from yesterday. When I touched it, it too gave me the sensation of a magic feeling. Like when I shook hands with Daryn. It made me believe. Believe that Jareth was back. And he would be watching tonight.

* * *

We arrived at the party at a good time it seemed. There were already a lot of people there and at the entrance of the building was Dr. Kerr. He wasn't saying anything to anyone though. Maybe he figured that just being there to "greet" everyone to the party would deter people from going. It looked like everyone really didn't care though because everyone was just ignoring him and having a good time already. As we approached the door, he spotted us and shrunk back slightly. I'm guessing my costume was the thing that really set him off because he was staring at me with a look of disgust and shock almost. Feeling his discomfort, I flashed him a smile the Goblin King would be proud of. I nodded at him as a greeting but he didn't appear to be in the mood to respond back. Which was just fine by me.

We could already hear the music as we walked into the main entry of the frat house. All throughout the building's entry there were lots of people all dressed up and meeting with friends or just dancing. The lights were pretty much off aside from the strobe lights the disco light. Everything looked great! The theme this year I gathered from the decorations was either zombie ball or some type of decaying ballroom scene. Off to the side, there was the food table that was being crowded by the beefy jocks. I could wait for a drink or food. Not like I had waited all day to eat or anything till this party.

Then I spotted Blake talking a girl dressed as a fairy and a guy in a hotdog suit. Blake's costume made me genuinely laugh. He was dressed as none other than Hoggle. His dark skin seemed to be lighter due to the pounds of makeup he probably had on He even had the big fake nose. I waved at Blake, who then looked to have excused himself from his friends and weave through the crowds to me and Jocelyn.

"Wow Blake! Your costume looks great!" Jocelyn said, lightly touching the leather vest. "But umm…what exactly are you supposed to be?"

"Well-"

"Hoggle. The gardener right?" I interrupted. The both of them looked at me.

"Yeah that's right." Blake replied.

"Why is it so surprising? I know everything there is to know about that book pretty much." I commented, crossing my arms but keeping the smile on my face.

"I don't know. It's just strange to see your knowledge in action Sarah. The last time you showed it, you got Dr. Kerr so pissed I thought that he was going to burn our dorm hall down." Jocelyn poked.

"Hey! He deserved it!" I replied laughing. "But yeah, Blake you do look pretty great." I commented after stopping the giggles.

"Hahahaha I know right? But thank you. These costumes were a present from Daryn though so…actually did he come in with you guys?" He asked.

Me and Jocelyn exchanged glances. "Ummm…no? Why? I thought he was coming with you?" I asked. Blake shook his head. "Well maybe he's just late is all. Oh well. We can still have plenty of fun without him anyways!" I said beginning to dance to the song that I recognized as none other than Oingo Boingo.

Throughout the evening things went well. We danced what seemed like a long enough time and finally the jocks moved away from the food table. But I was shocked to see a big platter of peaches sitting right in the middle of table. Then things started to click. I didn't know why I hadn't seen it when we'd walked in.

I turned and looked at the scenery again. The room was an exact match. The depress in the floor with cushions and chairs and the chandelier that hung from the ceiling, right down to the fake mirrors that were obviously chipped in to donate for the evening. Granted there was no lower level part leaving more dance floor, it was almost the same aside from the decayed version of it.

Jocelyn and Blake came to me, both of them looking a little pale. Although I wasn't one to talk. The realization probably had left me much the same if not worse.

"What's wrong guys?" I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"I've tried calling Daryn multiple times tonight and he hasn't answered. But now I'm getting connected straight to a message saying his phone's been cut off. I think something's happened." Blake said. As much as I disliked the guy, I didn't dislike him to the point where I wouldn't be concerned.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" I asked.

"Around 4 today."

"Did he tell you what he was doing?"

"No. I think he was on his way to pick up his outfit from the drycleaners though."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when we were on the phone, he must've split something heavy duty stain wise onto his outfit because he was practically fuming. It's just natural that anybody with that kind of attachment to their costume or clothes go and get it fixed right away."

I thought for a minute.

"Do you want to give it a little while before we do anything drastic?" I asked finally coming to the conclusion we might just be over reacting.

"Well…I suppose we could give it another half an hour before we do something." Blake said rather reluctantly.

But then half an hour came and passed and still no response. I was honestly starting to get a little concerned as well. Making up my mind, I found Jocelyn and Blake sitting in the depression on the cushions. "I'm going to go and drive over to Daryn's place and see if he's alright. I'm not sure, but something is up that I don't like." I stated looking at Daryn and back at Jocelyn. They both shook their heads and agreed with me.

"Blake, do you have Daryn's address?" He took out his phone and took a few minutes to pull the address up for me.

"Ok, uh, 30 Belmont street."

"Holy shit. That's kinda far. Like, middle of nowhere 'far'. Are you sure that's where he lives?"

"Yeah. That's where I picked him up and dropped him off at when we had dinner."

I looked at the address and wondered why the hell he would live that far out of town. Then again, thinking about the possibility of him being fae, it almost made sense to be out in the middle of nowhere.

"I'll be back in about an hour then. It looks like the party has no intentions of dying down anytime soon anyways, so just have fun while I'm gone." I gave them a smile and walked to my car.

On the way out of the building I was met with Dr. Kerr.

"Leaving the party so soon Williams?" He asked, pushing up his glasses.

"Actually, I'm leaving to go pick up a friend. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I mocked smirking at him and continuing the walk to the car.

It was kind of eerie. The street where my car was parked was a little ways off campus by a café. Which of course was closed by now and no one was really out. The wind was light but it blew stray plastic bags and leaves. The ambience of the sounds freaked me out.

When I reached my car and was finally inside was when I calmed down, making sure to find a nice upbeat radio station. The drive wasn't as long as I thought it would be at least. I made it to the neighborhood in roughly 20 minutes. The neighborhood was out in between a forest and a lake. All of the houses were dark and the lights off. They were fairly nice houses, each with the same exterior of clapboard but in varying colors from what I could make in the dark. Then his house came up to the right. It was a corner lot but that didn't help the level of creepy.

Something was immediately wrong to me. The screen door on the poor was open and the windows were open and his car was parked on the lawn. The car's doors were all open and the lights in it were on.

I got shivers and wondered what I should do. I rolled down the windows and shouted at the house. "Daryn?" It was silent besides the wind, the cars beeping that the doors were open and the squeaking of the screen door. Not even the crickets or insects made noise. I panicked. What if something had really happened to him? What if he was lying inside the house hurt? I should go in and make sure but it seemed like a terrible idea. The logical part of my mind weighed my options. Then I thought about all the times I ever went to see a scary movie and how I would always scream to the main character how stupid they were being and they should just stop. What if that was now me? In any scary movie, the character would get out of the car and get killed or have to go into the basement, cellar or attic or some locked room which they would then find to be open when coming back from a search for a key.

But this wasn't a horror movie. I tried to keep reminding myself of that but it didn't help my nerves.

I opened the car door and took my keys. Standing outside the car still looking at the house, I could feel my heart rate increase.

It's just a house. I'm sure nothing is wrong and you'll find Daryn and have a good laugh about this when he gives you a perfectly logical explanation for this. I thought to myself. But looking at the scene in front of me, even I couldn't come up with anything mildly logical.

Taking a deep breath I slowly approached the house.

"Daryn? Daryn are you there?" I called again, hoping he would answer. But again there was silence.

The house seemed so dark and foreboding.

I stepped lightly onto the squeaky porch and slowly opened the door. The house was pitch black inside. Everything was still. Swallowing my nerves and taking a wavering breath, I walked slowly into the house. It was so cold. Colder than it was outside.

I held my breath as I tip toed down the entry hallway and peered around the corner to the left of me into the living room.

From what I could make out the coffee table in the middle of the room was split in half and there was debris everywhere. It almost looked like the house had been torn through.

Then there was a movement just behind the coffee table. As my eyes settled on the form and tried to adapted to the lighting, I could see it was almost a human figure, bent over, with it's back towards me. I froze. The person was naked and was very thin and boney. Then I began to realize, it wasn't a person. My heart thundered on in my chest at this realization and I started backing out of the room when my foot hit a part of the floor that made a rather loud creak.

The creature turned to face me and when it locked eyes with me, it let out this blood curdling screech. There was a blinding light all around me and then my ears began to fill with a high pitched ringing. The last thing I remembered was the red eyes and sharp teeth of the creature looking down on my body.

* * *

Authors note:

Hi everyone! I just want to say thank you for taking the time to read this. This is actually the first story I've ever posted and ever really let anyone read. I'd love to hear feedback and know what you all think! I have a very busy school and work schedule, but I'll try to be consistent with my posting and hopefully update every 2 weeks or so. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

November 1-November 4

* * *

When I was a little girl, I used to have this dream about myself as an adult. Or at least, that's who I thought it was in the dream. I would see myself sitting down in a room much similar to the dorm room at the University, crying. The room was nothing like it should though. Everything was outdated. Somehow though, it wasn't outdated in the sense that it was old, it was new. Which was odd. It was like I was living in the 1960's. The walls were a gross shade of yellow with felt university flags and black and white posters. The beds are polished maple with curving headboards. The bed I was sitting on, was the one closest to the window. The details of the room always changed, things like the posters or the content of the bookshelves or the placement of the desks.

I always have the feeling like I'm being watched. As if my every move if being monitored and noted. Yet in all the dreams I'd had, there was never anyone besides myself, always sitting on the same bed, crying.

And then, I would get up from the bed and place my hand over my stomach as if I'm going to be sick and slowly edge my way over to the desk beneath the window. The desk is scattered with papers, always in a language that is indecipherable, as if it isn't English or any other language I've seen. I would scoot the papers over and open the window, sobbing even harder, then proceeding to sit atop the desk, peering out the window. And then, then I would fling myself out of the high window, feeling the stomach churning emotions and the fear of falling to earth, as if I'll shatter into a million pieces once I hit the ground.

This dream is one I have not had in many years. They stopped a little while after I turned 10. This time though, there's someone in the room with me. A man. A man with black smoldering eyes and black spiked hair who seems to ooze this black smoke. He's staring at me, watching me the whole time through the events of the dream through the window. Which is terrifying because the room seems to be many stories up. He's watching me and smiling an awful horrible smile, beckoning me to come to him. And when I put my hand over my stomach as if I'm going to be sick, his smile widens, as if he knows some deep secret that I don't. But the smile soon fades as I approach the window and throw myself from the desk. As I fall, I hear him say, "You will return to me or your suffering will never end."

This feeling of overwhelming dread is enough to wake me up. My stomach is churning, my body burning and my breathing labored. Never have I felt more violated and more hopeless than this and it was a dream. This feeling though is not short lived as the events of last night come flooding back to me in a crushing blow.

Those red eyes, those razor teeth, bearing down on top of me. The urge to vomit is suddenly very overwhelming. I feel the tears forming in my eyes as I open them and blink them away.

The surroundings become registered to me and this is when I realize, I've been asleep somewhere and it isn't Daryn's house.

I lie deathly still, breathing in as little as possible and look around. The ceiling is a white cork board looking ceiling. One that belongs to a school or an office building. I look to my left and see a door with a window in it and many people walking by.

"Wait a minute." I begin to think. And when I look to my right, my thoughts are confirmed. Jocelyn, Blake, Karen and my father are sitting in chairs against the wall, my dad sits right next to my bed, looking down at the floor. The windows behind them let in too much sun and I squint, momentarily seeing a shadow or figure in the corner of the room before blinking it away.

Jocelyn is the first to notice I've waken up.

"Oh Sarah." She sobs deeply as she stands from her chair and makes her way to my side. "Sarah I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let you go alone." And everyone is crowding the bed, staring at me, breathing sighs of relief.

I shake my head slowly.

"No." I start, my throat dry and my voice rough. "I'm actually really glad you didn't."

"Sarah, what happened?" Karen asks, standing behind my dad.

"I...I don't think any of you would believe me."

"What do you mean?" My dad asks in a concerned tone. He reaches out his hand and places it over mine. I feel safe, but I can't say anything. They'd think I was nuts or dreamt the whole thing.

"Why am I in the hospital?" The thought suddenly hitting me that there was a whole spanse of time that was unaccounted for.

Everyone stills and looks at each other. My dad pats my hand and looks back at the ground.

"You...Sarah, you've been out for three days." Jocelyn says reluctantly. My head spins. Three days? What happened to me? What the hell was going on? "We got worried after you left and came after you. We tried calling your phone to let you know to come back and we would come with you, but when you didn't answer, we got worried. When we got to Daryn's house...well…" She trailed off looking away from me to Blake. Everyone looked somber and almost like a look you would have if you'd just seen a UFO and knew no one would listen to you.

"We found your car there. It was torn apart and Daryn's car was there with the doors flung open and everything...We tried calling you again but your phone went to voicemail and-"

"What are you not telling me?" I interrupted. Something was being kept from me or being avoided.

"We went in to look for you, but you weren't there. We looked all over the house for you and didn't find you anywhere. When the cops came, they found your blood on the floor in his living room and out in his backyard. "

"Then how am I here in the hospital?"

"They found you passed out about a mile from his house yesterday in the woods by his house. They say that you were pretty beaten up and that it looks like you must've been knocked out and dragged there. That's all that they told us though." The words were sinking in slowly. My head was buzzing. I was...I was dragged out of his house by that thing. I could've died. It was real then. I wasn't dreaming. How could that be?

"Where's Daryn? Is he alright?"

Jocelyn's eyes widened and she bent her head as tears escaped her worried eyes again.

"Sarah," She started slowly. "During the time you've been out, there's been some strange things that have happened on campus. No one's seen Daryn and a bunch of the other students from the Halloween party since that night. Nobody remembers any of them leaving."

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

"I don't know." She stopped again, considering her words. "So far, you are the only one that's come back after going missing." My mouth dropped.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Of all the missing students so far from that night, you're the only one that's been found."

"…How many disappeared?"

"About 1/8th of the students here disappeared." Blake said, his voice low and serious.

"That's like fourteen hundred students!" How the hell?!" What was happening. "Where are the rest of the people?"

"They're all out looking for everyone."

"How do a large number of people in the same room as others just disappear and go unseen? That doesn't make any sense. Surely the friends of these people noticed them go off somewhere?"

"That's just it. Everyone that's been talked to so far that is still here from the party doesn't remember anything at the exact same point of time. There's just a big blank." I hung my head. Dr. Kerr knew what was going to happen, he knew. That's why he tried to stop us all. He did know something.

"I'm going to call the police officer that's here in. Dr. Kerr is here too." She said comfortingly.

"What's he have to say about all of this, speaking of him. Shouldn't he have given a statement by now about all of this?"

"Nothing besides the reason of the disappearances have yet to be determined and that he had faith that all of the students would be found."

After Jocelyn had made left the room we all sat quietly until a nurse came in and checked up on me. But after a full round of tests and checking my vitals I got the all clear. At that point I was relieved to get out and go home. Of course though, my moment of bliss and calm didn't last long.

Before I could get up and allowed to leave, a police officer joined us in my hospital room.

"Gummy!" I exclaimed. Detective Gumshoe had been a good friend of mine when I'd been after an internship at the police headquarters in my freshman year.

Detective Gumshoe stood in the middle of the doorway stupid three stranded goatee of his and that pencil behind his ear and his brown hair was looking a bit disheveled as if he'd slept here overnight. His detectives trench coat had seen better days judging from the wear and tear and the last time I'd seen him.

"Hey pal."

"Detective Gumshoe, what're you doing here?" I asked, smile beaming.

"Well, I've actually come here to get you." I blinked a few times.

"Huh? Why?"

"I was put in charge of this case and I'm supposed to take you with me for questioning."

"Oh…Ok." I sighed, my shoulders slumped. Apparently, it was going to be a long day.

"I'll see you later, Sarah. Let me know when you get out and I'll give you a ride." Jocelyn said.

And so my day of 'excitement' went from there. The questioning went on for a couple of hours. They seemed to draw on forever. The questions he asked were ones that I was prepared for but when he asked me for what happened to me, I was torn how to answer.

"Gummy, you know I wouldn't lie to you, so as incredibly insane as this is going to sound, you _have _to believe me because it's the truth. You could give me a damn polygraph test if you'd like but it'll still the truth." I stated turning very serious. The look on his face said that he was ready for whatever I said. And so I told him. I watched him carefully as I told him everything about the past few days. First he was very intense, then when I talked about going into Daryn's house, he became concerned. Then the monster that I saw, his expression turned to one of almost disbelief.

"That's quite the night you had, pal." He said, combing a hand through his hair.

"I know it's a little hard to swallow, but it's true."

"Do you have and idea about what happened to the people that disappeared at the party?"

"I don't know. How did they disappear? Nobody saw any of their friends leave? That seems a little too convenient."

"Everyone we talked to said that they were partying and then at the same time, all of them had 30 minutes which they couldn't recall. Building records that night tell us that the electricity went off for that amount of time and judging by the fact that no one remembers the electricity going off, that must be the time they all blanked out on."

"How is that even possible? For everyone there to lose track of the same amount of time _at _the same time?"

"Oh which reminds me, Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"You've also been forbidden from investigating. You're not to have any involvement with this case. Got it Pal?" He said suddenly, looking at me very seriously. It was rare to see Gumshoe act so…professional.

"Hmph. I can't make any promises-"

"Sarah." He interrupted warningly.

"_But _I'll try." I said finally with a sad smile.

He looked slightly relieved at this last statement.

I was let out of interrogation at around noon which wasn't as long as I thought it'd been. I still had a lot of day to use to my advantage. _Sorry Gummy. _I thought to myself. I had to know though. I had to find out what was going on.

* * *

_Just as I thought._ I thought to myself as I looked at the police presence outside the frat house. There was no way that I was going to be able to investigate with all the police officers crawling about. I ran a hand through my hair and continued walking along the path back to the dorm. I would just have to deal with talking to a few people who were at the party that were still here.

Mentally, my list of shit that didn't make sense was in the danger zone. How did nearly 1400 students just disappear like that and have no one see them? How the fuck did they all lose the exact amount of time at the exact time? Were there even that many people at that party? That couldn't be possible. The building wasn't big enough for that many people. I'd been there for long enough last night to maybe estimate a good 200 people but how did that many people slip out? Where'd they leave from? Where had they been if they weren't at the party? I was going to give myself a headache at this rate.

But I needed to figure out what was going on regardless. I knew somehow Jareth had a part in this somehow. And Dr. Kerr. Just what exactly was he playing at?

Deciding it was just best to give it up for the evening and get some well needed rest, I decided to just go back to the dorm. It had been a long three days of being lost apparently. How was I out for that long? I did get a headache now. All of this stuff just simply wasn't logical by any means. Then again, how does one logicize the Labyrinth let alone Mr cocky pants himself?

When I got back to the dorm, Jocelyn was sitting on the end of her bed talking to Blake. I hadn't even bothered to ask if either of them were ok. What a great friend I am. They both looked up when they say me come in.

"How are you holding up girly?" He asked, coming towards me and hugging me.

"I'm more baffled than anything in all honesty." I sighed shaking my head. "So what were we talking about? Not to be nosy and you don't have to tell if you don't want." I commented, taking off the big thick winter sweater I had on.

"Well we were talking about going to Daryn's house." The room seemed to still. Would I go back after what happened? Something about that house sparked a tinge of fear in me. Especially with the electricity out, this would be another stupid thing to do. But it would be nice to investigate.

"I was told by Detective Gumshoe though not to get involved and not to investigate." I said kind of disinterested in that statement.

Blake and Joce exchanged skeptical glances at each other, knowing that I had absolutely no intentions of honoring that. I looked up them both. Blake had his hands on his hips staring at me with his head cocked to the side as if to say "really?".

"I have to warn you guys, I really don't think it's safe to go there. There's something…very off about all of this. I'm not sure if we should go. I want to, trust me but, what happened to me scared me enough to not want to go back ever." I mumbled, twiddling with the edge of my knit sweater. I'd still had on the tight leggings and riding boots. It was strange how powerful the costume had made me feel. But this. This right now, was me. I was scared of what was happening. I was afraid of this unknown.

"We promise we'll stay together and trust me, if something is still there, I'll whoop it's ass. Cause I got sass, and that's a fact yeah holla back-" Blake broke off into cheer again, warranting a giggle from me and Joce. Good God. That was enough to convince me that things might be ok. So reluctantly, I agreed.

* * *

The house seemed far less ominous in the light, but still held that level of darkness. The leaves rustled as they blew in the wind and scraped along the road. It looked the same as it had that night besides from the obvious police tape that hap hazardously blocked the door. This of course made no difference to us.

Armed with flash lights, a generator and Blake's major spotlights, we readied ourselves for whatever awaited us inside. We all stood aside the car on the grass just staring. It was like we were waiting for the house itself to react. Nothing happened of course, but we continued staring. It seemed like now, the both of them were scared. Which was good because I was too.

My car...If the house wasn't enough to scare me, the state of my car really set me off. The drivers side door looked as if it had been run into with another car and was barely hanging on to the vehicle at all. The upholstery was ripped and stuffing from the seats was scattered everywhere inside and around the car. If this is what that creature did to my car, I felt very lucky to be alive.

"Guys maybe we should just go back home." I suggested reaching for Jocelyn's car door.

"Oh hell no. We made it here and so we're going in." Blake grabbed my arm and started walking to the door. Jocelyn followed in tow and we all bent under the police tape and entered.

It was cold. There was a very tangible difference from the temperature outside to the moment we crossed the threshold. It was like it walking into a refrigerator. We made sure to be very quiet as we walked down the hallway. The night's memories flooding back to me. I stopped dead. This was all too real again. I was terrified to take another step.

Blake turned around when he felt me stop walking with him. The fear must have been evident on my face because he almost mimicked mine. I shook my head signaling I'd gone as far in as I wanted. None of us dared make noise out of fear something was here with us. Blake turned and looked down the hallway then back to me considering for a moment. He then tugged on my arm for us to keep going. I turned around and grabbed Jocelyn's hand and continued walking.

As the three of us approached the corner of where the entry hallway met the living room, we stopped. Slowly, Blake peered around the corner. I could see his shoulders relax as he scanned around the room. He looked over in the kitchen and had the same expression. Relief. He turned to me and Jocelyn and gave a weak smile before taking us into the living room.

The room looked different now with light. We were all careful not to walk on anything that might be helpful. I took out the camera in my jacket pocket and started taking pictures of the room. The broken coffee table had bits of what looked like fur. I snapped a picture before I pulled out a Ziploc bag and carefully placed it in the bag, making sure to pick it up using the bag. Sure enough as well, I saw dried blood caked onto the floor where I knew I'd been forced down at. A set of shivers rolled down my spine and into the back of my skull. It was unsettling to say the least.

Nothing else about the room seemed to be out of the norm. We moved back to the hallway to walk into the kitchen. Nothing unusual again. The old retro kitchen seemed perfectly fine.

Then we walked further in and turned to face the hallway down to the right of us. It was small and narrow and dark and had only one small window towards the stairs at the end of the hall. The creepy feeling overpowering me once again. In the hallway there was a small door to the right. Slowly, I opened the door with my shirt,careful not to leave any finger prints. It was the Dining room. Again nothing unusual but I took pictures anyways.

The stairs were really creaky. But that was to be expected from such and old house. It was surprising though. The second floor seemed nice and inviting. It was light and warm and the window at the end of the long _wide _hall let in lots of natural light. There were 2 doors on the left and 3 on the right. We all picked one and slowly started opening doors to see what was what, careful not to disrupt the evidence. The first three were just bedrooms, obviously the one with the tall bedposts and black silk sheets was his. It felt almost intrusive to have seen that. But I couldn't help chuckle. Daryn did seem the type to own sheets like those. It was a very egotistic kind of style. Which fit him perfectly.

The last two doors at the end were and office and a bathroom. After taking pictures of each room, we decided it would be more worth our time to search the office.

There was a big L shaped desk sitting facing towards the window that overlooked the backyard. Next to that was a big metal filing cabinet and then a safe. We were all fixated on the safe. It didn't look like the police had opened it yet. But we sure as hell knew we were going to. We didn't need to though. Because laying on his desk was a file with my name on it, and inside were pictures of me. They were pictures of me through the window of our dorm room of me and Jocelyn. The most frightening was the picture of me talking to my mirror and Hoggle's image being reflected back to me. Just what the hell was going on?!

I didn't get much time to think about it when a sudden crash came from downstairs. We all jumped and looked at each other .

"What should we do?" Asked Blake frantically in a hushed voice. I snapped a picture of the file and it's contents before we all joined hands and walked downstairs to find the origin of the noise. We weren't really sure that we wanted to know though.

Everything seemed fine for the most part. Nothing was knocked over or disturbed since we'd passed through. Then we walked back into the living room and realized there was another door there.

As we opened the door we realized that behind the door were stairs that lead to

to a dark basement. Dozens of red flags went off in my mind but I had to keep investigating. This was my only lead.

The stairs were creaky. Loudly and eerily so. It was almost pitch black downstairs. But if the police investigated and got out ok then I was sure we would be alright...or at least I kept trying to tell myself that. It wasn't working that well. I hated the dark. But holding Blake and Jocelyn's hands made me feel slightly better. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could tell there was nothing really down here besides a breaker box. I could tell there was nothing really down here besides a breaker box. It was a fairly small little cement room with a small blacked out window on the wall in front of us.

Blake popped his flashlight on and led us over to the breaker box. With a couple of flicks, the lights slowly flickered to life. It was a relief. Being able to see was a huge comfort. At this point we let got of each others hands and looked around. Nothing seemed wrong in here necessarily but something seemed off about this room.

But now there was something even larger staring me in the face. In one of the walls it looked like the cement wasn't quite fitting together. Like it had been moved or shifted from its place in the wall. Upon closer inspection I realized that it was a door.

"Sarah. What the fuck are you doing?" Jocelyn asked me between clenched teeth. As I pried the cement slab away from the wall, I could see the inside of the adjoining room. It was a lit room with a fridge, a toilet and tons of shelves stocked with food. In the center of the well lit room was a big table with dirty dishes, trash and paperwork. On the wall in front of us there was a tv monitor with video footage of the main rooms and exterior of the house. Then, there was a sharp rustling.

I turned to see Jocelyn and Blake staring in shock at a form huddled in the sleeping bag in the corner of the room.

"Daryn!" I exclaimed.

* * *

Authors note:

Phew! So I hope you enjoyed, I know that sometimes my sentences get a little long winded or it gets a little long winded to get to the point, but thank you all for reading! There was kind of a crossover-ish element to this chapter if any of you are Phoenix Wright fans like me noticed. Detective Gumshoe is not a character of mine and all rights for him go to Capcom. I just really like the idea of having him in this story as sort of comic relief and a good reliable friend. He's one of those characters that's just very friendly and sympathetic and I feel fits well here.

Feedback is always welcome, I love getting criticism and comments. If there's anything you feel could've been written better, please let me know or if there's anything you spotted that you feel should be fixed, again let me know :) Thank you guys so much again and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!


End file.
